Buying guide for best Omega juicers
Getting plenty of fruits and vegetables into your diet is an important step in leading a healthy lifestyle. But if you’re not a big fan of fruits and veggies, it can be a challenge to eat enough of them each day. Juicing fruits and vegetables can be an easy way to work more kinds of produce into your diet. With an Omega juicer, it’s easy to get the most from your fruits and vegetables in as little time as possible.
Juicers, also known as juice extractors, are kitchen appliances that extract healthy juice from fruits and vegetables. Juicers allow you to enjoy all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients of fruits and veggies quickly and easily in the form of delicious juice. Juice is easily digested, meaning you can get the benefits of the nutrients quickly.
Omega is one of the most respected brands in the home juicing market. Omega offers reliable, high-quality, effective juicers in several different types, allowing you to choose the option that best suits your juicing preferences. Whichever juicer you select, you’ll be able to extract fresh fruit juice and vegetable juice with the press of a button.
Types of juicers offered by Omega
Omega offers three types of juicers, namely centrifugal, masticating, and twin gear juicers. While all three types can effectively juice fruits and vegetables, you may prefer one over the others.
Centrifugal juicers
Centrifugal juicers, sometimes known as high-speed juicers, feature a series of sharp teeth that rotate at high speeds to grind down the produce. The fresh juice is then spun to remove the pulp and passed through a filter to get rid of any smaller particles. Because a centrifugal juicer operates at such a high speed, it’s able to produce juice more quickly than its counterparts. Due to the high speed, these juicers tend to be noisy, and their powerful motor can get hot during operation, which can cause foam and oxidation in the juice that removes some of its nutrients. Centrifugal machines work best with harder, thick fruits and veggies, such as carrots and apples.
Masticating juicers
Masticating juicers, also known as low-speed or cold press juicers, use a tool called an auger that crushes fruits and vegetables with its large teeth. The crushed produce is then pressed through a juicing screen to make sure that all the juice is removed from the pulp. This allows a masticating juicer to produce a high juice yield compared to centrifugal models. Because it works at a slow speed compared to other juicers, it doesn’t create as much foam or oxidize the juice as the centrifugal models. You’ll have to wait longer for your juice, though, and do some pre-cutting or mincing of fruits and veggies before feeding the machine.
Twin gear juicers
Twin gear or triturating juicers feature two gears that are placed very close to one another. When you turn the juicer on, the gears turn and crush the produce, pushing out the very dry pulp. A twin gear juicer produces a great deal of juice and can work with a wide variety of produce. These juicers operate at a speed slightly faster than masticating juicers, so you wind up with juice that contains all the important nutrients.
Centrifugal juicers are usually more budget-friendly but masticating and twin gear juicers offer quieter operation. They’re also able to handle more types of produce than centrifugal models and are usually more versatile because you can use them to make nut butter, baby food, and other recipes.
Specialized juicers
Omega also offers specialized juicers.
- A celery juicer is a cold press juicer that’s optimized for extracting the most juice from the long, fibrous stems of celery. It features a celery cap that squeezes juice from celery better than standard juicer end caps. Celery juicers can also juice other produce.
- A cube juicer is similar to a horizontal masticating juicer but in a more compact, cube-shaped form. These juicers are easier to store and take up less counter space with their compact shape.
- Citrus juicers are designed to juice citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. They look like manual citrus juicers and reamers. All you need to do is cut the citrus fruit into halves and let the citrus juicing machine do the rest of the work.
DID YOU KNOW?
Juicers, blenders, and food processors are not the same. While a juicer extracts liquid from food, blenders, and food processors chop, crush, and pulverize food. If you want to, you can run blended liquid through a strainer or filter to remove the juice, but it’s simpler to just use a juicer.
STAFF
BestReviews
Horizontal and vertical Omega juicers
One of the complaints about masticating juicers is that they often tend to take up more counter space than centrifugal models. That’s because they tend to feature horizontal designs with bigger footprints. However, some Omega masticating juicers feature a vertical compact design, which allows them to take up less space on your countertop or in your cabinet.
A vertical masticating juicer combines the benefits of a centrifugal juicer with a masticating one and usually produces juice more quickly than a horizontal juicer due to its slightly higher speed. It doesn’t work as well on tougher produce like leafy greens, though, so a horizontal model may be a better option if you like to make green juice from kale and wheatgrass.
Are you looking for a cool, refreshing treat? Try a green juice popsicle. If green juice isn’t your favorite, juice something else you enjoy, pop it into a popsicle mold, and enjoy a few hours later.
STAFF
BestReviews
Features of the best Omega juicers
Versatility
When you’re choosing an Omega juicer, consider how you plan to use it. Some models are able to juice a wider range of produce and can even be used for other kitchen tasks.
All Omega juicers work well for juicing hard fruits and vegetables like apples and carrots. However, if you like to juice softer produce like tomatoes or leafy greens such as spinach or wheatgrass, you should go for a low-speed masticating or twin-gear Omega juicer. These augur-based and gear-based models do better at handling fruits and veggies like tomatoes and greens, which can be hard to work with.
Omega’s masticating and twin gear juicers also do great at a wide range of other kitchen tasks. Depending on the model that you choose, you may be able to use your juicer to make:
- Nut butter
- Baby food
- Nut milk
- Pasta
- Sorbets and frozen desserts
You may also be able to use your juicer to grind coffee and spices.
Nozzles
Some of Omega’s juicer models are marketed as nutrition systems, which means they do more than just extract juice. A juicer marked as a nutrition system often comes with nozzles designed to extrude dough. These nozzles can then be made into breadsticks or pasta. Omega nutrition centers may come with up to six different nozzles to create two sizes of breadstick or four kinds of pasta.
Pulp ejection
It’s usually not possible to get entirely pulp-free juice when you’re juicing your own fruits and vegetables, but some Omega juicers offer a pulp ejection feature. After the juice is extracted from your produce, it’s pressed through a strainer that spins at a high speed to remove as much pulp from the juice as possible. Instead of allowing the pulp to build up inside the juicer, though, the pulp is separated from the juice and then forced out of the machine through a separate spout. You wind up with pulp-free juice and much less mess to clean up inside the machine when you’re finished.
DID YOU KNOW?
Omega masticating juicers can also be used to make nut milk and soy milk.
STAFF
BestReviews
Chute size
When you’re choosing an Omega juicer, pay attention to the size of the feed chute. If you choose a model with a larger chute, you don’t have to cut your fruits and vegetables as small as you would for a model with a smaller chute. That can cut down on your prep time considerably, so you’re able to enjoy your juice as quickly as possible.
Ease of cleaning
While using a juicer is usually a pretty straightforward process, cleaning it afterward can be a serious hassle. Having a juicer with parts that are easy to remove and clean is a real benefit. Many Omega juicers have user-removable, dishwasher-safe parts that are easy to hand rinse or wash in the top rack of your dishwasher. That saves you from having to scrub out all the pulp and residue from the juicer’s nooks and crannies.
Reverse operation
The ability to reverse the operation of the juicer can be a big help in cleaning or clearing clogged and jammed material. Some Omega juicers have controls that include the ability to reverse the action of the mechanism.
Portability and size
If you find yourself taking out and putting away your juicer on a frequent basis, you should pick one that’s light enough for you to pick up, and a size convenient enough without compromising on power. Look for a juicer with convenient grips or handles. For example, Omega’s horizontal masticating juicers have large, easy-to-grip built-in handles.
DID YOU KNOW?
If you’re worried about food waste, you can use the pulp of many juiced fruits and vegetables in recipes. Use carrot or zucchini pulp in cakes or quickbreads, or use vegetable pulp to add fiber to pasta sauce or soup. You can even make fruit leather out of fruit pulp.
STAFF
BestReviews
How much do Omega juicers cost?
Omega juicers vary in price based on the type and the features that they offer. Most models cost between $70 to $525.
Inexpensive
The most affordable Omega juicers are centrifugal models. They typically range from $70 to $300. You’ll pay more for a model with features like pulp ejection and dishwasher-safe components.
Mid-range
Omega twin gear juicers are a bit more expensive. They usually cost between $200 and $415, though you’ll pay more for models with features like pulp ejection, dishwasher-safe components, and an extra-large chute.
Expensive
The highest-end Omega juicers are vertical and horizontal masticating models. Horizontal models typically range from $200 to $499, while vertical models usually cost between $300 and $525. They usually offer features like pulp ejection, dishwasher-safe components, and an extra-large chute. Several are marketed as nutrition systems with multiple functions like making pasta, baby food, and nut butter.
FOR YOUR SAFETY
Always wash your juicer immediately after you use it. Bacteria, mold, and other microorganisms can easily grow if you leave the mess and residue from your produce inside.
STAFF
BestReviews
Tips
- Always turn off and unplug your Omega juicer when it’s not in use. It’s especially important to cut the power to the juicer when you’re cleaning it to avoid the risk of injury.
- If your Omega juicer features dishwasher-safe parts, place them on the top rack of your dishwasher. This will help avoid damage as you wash them. Don’t wash them in the lower rack.
- If you want to sterilize or deep-clean your Omega juicer parts, soak them for approximately half an hour in warm water. Be sure that you’ve added one to two pinches of baking soda or drops of dishwashing soap, too. Rinse and dry the parts thoroughly before reassembling.
- Be sure to wash all of your produce before adding it to your juicer. Contaminants like dirt and sand won’t only ruin your juice, but they can also damage the juicer’s parts.
- When juicing soft fruits or produce like tomatoes, it’s best to refrigerate them before adding them to your juicer. This will make them firmer and easier to handle and press.
- For the best results, alternate soft and hard produce. This helps push the softer ingredients through the juicer.
FAQ
Q. What type of Omega juicer is best for people who are new to juicing?
A. If you’re just starting out with juicing, an Omega centrifugal juicer may be your best bet. They’re some of the more affordable models, so you don’t need to invest too much to get started. They also produce juice more quickly than masticating juicers, which means you don’t need to devote too much time to your juicing routine. An Omega centrifugal juicer can handle most fruits and vegetables too, so you can create your favorite flavor blends.
Q. What type of warranty coverage do Omega juicers offer?
A. Omega’s warranty protection varies from model to model. Some Omega juicers offer only a one-year warranty, while others boast 10-year warranties. Some Omega models offer an impressive 15-year warranty.
Q. Should I peel and seed fruits and vegetables before adding them to my juicer?
A. You don’t need to peel or seed everything you plan to juice. Some fruits and vegetables do require peeling and seeding before juicing. For example, oranges, grapefruits, kiwis, papayas, and other thick-skinned fruits should be peeled before tossing them in your juicer to prevent clogging. Waxed fruits, like store-bought apples, should also be peeled. Removing the seeds from apples and the stones from fruits like peaches and plums is also a good idea.
Q. Do you have to drink the juice immediately after juicing?
A. Home-made fresh juice is best drunk as soon as possible. Some of the nutritional quality is lost over time, and pulp and residues can separate and settle. Also, note that freshly made juice isn’t pasteurized like store-bought juice is, so bacteria and microorganisms may grow in the juice, especially if it isn’t refrigerated quickly.
